Air conditioning unit for car

ABSTRACT

In an air conditioning unit for an automotive vehicle, which is housed in a space defined by a vehicle panel  7  separating an engine room and a vehicle compartment from each other, an Instrument panel  5  arranged in the vehicle compartment, and a floor panel  6  arranged on a floor of the vehicle compartment, bracket portions  20  for supporting an audio unit  40  are integrally formed with a rear portion of a unit casing  10  in a front-rear direction of the vehicle, the unit casing  10  being located in a central portion of the vehicle in a left-right direction thereof. The bracket portions  20  have upper end fixing plates  31  thereof fixed to the Instrument panel  5  and lower end fixing plates  33  thereof fixed to the floor panel  6 , by bolts or pins. Further, casing fixing plates  36  are fixed to a bracket  51  of a steering member  50  by bolts.

This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 USC 371of International Application PCT/JP00/02482 (not published in English)filed Apr. 17, 2000.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to an air conditioning unit for automotivevehicles.

BACKGROUND ART

FIG. 8 is a front view of an instrument panel, and FIG. 9 is across-sectional view of the instrument panel taken on line IX—IX of FIG.8 as viewed from an arrow therein.

The instrument panel 305 through which extends a steering wheel 311 hastwo openings 305A, 305B formed at a central portion thereof in theleft-right direction of a vehicle.

A vent outlet grill 340 is fitted in one 305B of the openings.

An audio unit 340 having an air conditioning unit-operating block isfitted in the other 305A of the same.

A space defined by the instrument panel 305, a floor panel 306 and avehicle panel 307 houses an air conditioning unit 301.

The air conditioning unit 301 is comprised of a blower unit 308, acooler unit 309, and a heater unit 310.

Air is taken in by driving a blower motor, not shown, of the blower unit308 and then blown out via outlet ports (including the vent outlet grill304) formed at locations downstream of the blower unit 308.

The cooler unit 309 includes an evaporator 309A and absorbs heat fromair passing through the evaporator 309A.

The heater unit 310 heats the air having passed through the evaporator309.

The audio unit 340 is mounted in the vehicle via guides 335 of brackets320. The brackets 320 have upper ends thereof mounted to the instrumentpanel 305 and lower ends thereof mounted to the floor panel 306.

The heater unit 110 is mounted to the vehicle panel 307.

In recent years, integration of vehicle components into modules, i.e.so-called modularization of vehicle components, has come to be carriedout.

This technique of modularization of vehicle components contributes notonly to improvement in mountability but also to reduction of the numberof components and man-hours required for assembly of a vehicle and toresultant reduction of manufacturing costs, and hence draws attention inthe field of vehicle manufacturing.

Modularization is advantageous particularly to the audio unit 340 andthe heater unit to be housed in a small space defined by the instrumentpanel 305, the floor panel 306, and the vehicle panel 307.

From the viewpoint of this modularization, the above prior art cannotachieve sufficient reduction of the number of components and that ofassembly steps.

As a solution to this problem, Japanese Laid-Open Patent PublicationKokai No. 10-6870 discloses a technique of integrally forming a casingfor housing an audio unit with a unit casing, thereby reducing thenumber of components; and that of assembly steps.

However, in this technique, since the unit casing is configured such asit also serves as a casing for the audio unit, if the unit casing isassembled with an instrument panel in a misaligned or improperlypositioned manner, the audio unit which is assembled with the unitcasing after assembling the air conditioning unit with the instrumentpanel is also improperly positioned with respect to the instrumentpanel.

If the center of the opening formed in the instrument panel does notagree with the center of a switch panel of the audio unit, it isimpossible to ensure a uniform clearance between the audio unit and theopening, which degrades the appearances of the air conditioning unit andthe instrument panel.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an air conditioning unit foran automotive vehicle, which can be assembled with an instrument panelwith high accuracy.

To attain the above object, the present invention provides an airconditioning unit for an automotive vehicle, which is housed in a spacedefined by a vehicle panel separating an engine room and a vehiclecompartment from each other, an instrument panel arranged in the vehiclecompartment, and a floor panel arranged on a floor of the vehiclecompartment, which comprises a unit casing for being located In acentral portion in a left-right direction of the vehicle, a bracketportion integrally formed with a rear portion of the unit casing in afront-rear direction of the vehicle, for supporting electricalequipment, a fixing portion for fixedly securing the unit casing to atleast one of the instrument panel, a steering member and the floorpanel, and error-accommodating means for accommodating an assembly errorin assembling of the electrical equipment and the instrument panel.

Even if electrical equipment is assembled with an instrument panel in amisaligned or improperly-positioned manner, it is possible toaccommodate the misalignment or displacement between the electricalequipment and the instrument panel by the error-accommodating means, sothat the electrical equipment can be assembled with the instrument panelwith higher accuracy.

Preferably, the fixing portion comprises a fixing member for fixedlysecuring the unit casing to any of the instrument panel, the steeringmember, and the floor panel, and an engaging member for engagement withany of the instrument panel, the steering member, and the floor panel.

According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to fix the unitcasing e.g. to the steering member by the fixing member and engage thesame with the Instrument panel and the floor panel by the engagingmembers, thereby simplifying the operation for securing the unit casingto the vehicle and reducing man-hours required for assembly.

Preferably, the bracket portion has a guide integrally formed therewithfor guiding the electrical equipment to a predetermined position duringassembly of the electrical equipment with the instrument panel.

According to this preferred embodiment, it is possible to guide even aheavy electrical equipment increased in size to the predeterminedposition by the guide, thereby facilitating an operation for assemblingthe electrical equipment with the instrument panel.

Preferably, the electrical equipment is integrally assembled with theunit casing.

According to this preferred embodiment, during assembly of the airconditioning unit with the vehicle, it is possible to assemble theelectrical equipment with the instrument panel together with the unitcasing by assembling the unit casing with the vehicle, which contributesto reduction of a time period for assembling the air conditioning unitwith the vehicle.

Preferably, the electrical equipment includes a cable for airconditioning, one end of the cable being positioned on a compartmentside of the electrical equipment with respect to a fixing plate of theelectrical equipment for fixing the electrical equipment to the bracketportion, and another end of the cable which extends from the electricalequipment to the unit casing by passing outside the bracket portion,being fixedly connected to door-driving means for driving a doorarranged in the unit casing.

According to this preferred embodiment, since the cable for airconditioning is fixedly connected to door-driving means, when theair-conditioning unit Is assembled with the vehicle, an operation forfixing the cable from the electrical equipment to a door-driving levercan be dispensed with, which makes It possible to reduce time forassembling the air conditioning unit with the vehicle as well as tomanufacture the air conditioning unit at lower costs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship betweena unit casing of an air conditioning unit for an automotive vehicle,according to a first embodiment of the Invention, and electricalequipment;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the air conditioning unit for an automotivevehicle;

FIG. 3 is a view taken from an arrow A of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken from an arrow B of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the air conditioning unitassembled with the vehicle;

FIG. 6(a) is a front view showing an air conditioning unit for anautomotive vehicle, according to a second embodiment, In a state beingassembled with the vehicle, and FIG. 6(b) is a side view of the FIG.6(a) air conditioning unit;

FIG. 7(a) is a front view showing an air conditioning unit for anautomotive vehicle, according to a third embodiment, in a state beingassembled with the vehicle, and FIG. 7(b) is a side view of the FIG.7(a) air conditioning unit;

FIG. 8 is a front view of an instrument panel; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on line IX—IX of FIG. 8 as viewedfrom an arrow therein.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to drawingsshowing preferred embodiments thereof.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship betweena unit casing of an air conditioning unit for an automotive vehicle,according to a first embodiment of the invention, and electricalequipment.

The vehicle air conditioning unit is comprised of the unit casing 10,bracket portions 20, and fixing portions, referred to hereinafter.

The unit casing 10 is located at a central portion of the vehicle in theleft-right direction of the same, and the bracket portions 20 areintegrally formed with a rear portion of the unit casing 10 in thefront-rear direction of the vehicle.

The bracket portions 20 support an audio unit (electrical equipment) 40.The audio unit 40 has a switch panel incorporating an operating sectionof the air conditioning unit.

The audio unit 40 has fixing plates 41 attached, respectively, toopposite side surfaces thereof. Each of the fixing plates 41 is formedwith through holes 41 a, 41 b for securing the audio unit 40 to thebracket portions 20 by bolts 42.

The aforementioned fixing portions are constituted by upper end fixingplates 31, lower portion fixing plates 32, lower end fixing plates 33and casing fixing plates 36, each of which will be described in detailhereinafter.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the vehicle air conditioning unit.

The bracket portions 20 are constituted by a pair of plates 20A, 20Bopposed and extending in parallel to each other.

Each bracket portion 20 has an upper end having the upper end fixingplate 31 integrally formed therewith. The upper end fixing plates 31 areformed by bending the upper ends of the plates 20A, 20B at a rightangle. Each upper end fixing plate 31 is formed with through holes 31 a,31 b (see FIG. 1) through which respective bolts or pins extend.

Each bracket portion 20 has a lower portion having the lower portionfixing plate 32 integrally formed therewith. The lower portion fixingplates 32 are formed by bending lower portions of the plates 20A, 20B ata right angle. Each lower portion fixing plate 32 is formed with athrough hole 32 a through which a bolt or a pin extends.

Each bracket portion 20 has a lower end having the lower end fixingplate 33 integrally formed therewith. The lower end fixing plates 33 areformed by bending the lower ends of the plates 20A, 20B at a rightangle. Each lower end fixing plate 33 is formed with through holes 33 a,33 b (see FIG. 1) through which respective bolts or pins extend.

FIG. 3 is a view taken from an arrow A of FIG. 2.

The unit casing 10 has an upper surface thereof formed with openings 11,12 for blowing out air therethrough.

The bracket portions 20 have opposite guides 35 integrally formedtherewith for guiding the audio unit 40 to a predetermined position. Theguides 35 extend at a right angle to the respective plates 20A, 20B.

FIG. 4 is a view taken from an arrow B of FIG. 2.

Each bracket portion 20 has an intermediate portion having anintermediate fixing plate 34 integrally formed therewith for fixing theaudio unit 40.

The intermediate fixing plates 34 are formed by bending intermediateportions of the plates 20A, 20B at a right angle. Each intermediatefixing plate 34 is formed with through holes 34 a, 34 b through whichthe bolts 42 extend, respectively (see FIG. 1). The intermediate fixingplates 34 are formed in a manner inclined with respect to the verticaldirection of the vehicle by a predetermined angle, and at a right angleto the respective guides 35.

The through holes 34 a, 34 b are each in the form of a slot(error-accommodating means) such that the position of the audio unit 40with respect to an instrument panel, referred to hereinafter, can beadjusted during assembly of the audio unit 40 with the unit casing 10.

The unit casing 10 is integrally formed with the pair of casing fixingplates 36 (only one of them is shown in FIGS. 1 and 4). Each of thecasing fixing plates 36 is formed with through holes 36 a, 36 b throughwhich respective bolts or pins extend (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle air conditioning unitassembled with the vehicle.

The vehicle air conditioning unit is housed in a space S defined by theinstrument panel 5, a floor panel 6, and a vehicle panel 7.

The openings 11, 12 (see FIG. 3) of the unit casing 10 communicate,respectively, with a vent outlet port 4 and a defroster air outlet port3 formed in the instrument panel 5, via respective ducts 14, 15.

The instrument panel 5 is arranged within a compartment of the vehicle.The vehicle panel 7 separates an engine room and the compartment fromeach other, and the floor panel 6 is arranged on a floor of thecompartment.

The upper end fixing plates 31 of the bracket portions 20 are fixed tothe instrument panel 5 by bolts, not shown, while the lower end fixingplates 33 are fixed to the floor panel 6 by bolts, not shown.

Further, the lower portion fixing plates 32, not shown in FIG. 5, arealso fixed to the instrument panel 5 by bolts.

There is arranged a hollow cylindrical steering member 50 in the vehiclein a manner extending in the left-right direction of the same. A bracket51 is fixed to the steering member 50 e.g. by welding.

The casing fixing plates 36 are fixed to the bracket 51 of the steeringmember 50 by bolts, not shown.

When the bracket portions 20 are fixed to the instrument panel 5 and thefloor panel 6 as described above, the relative position of the unitcasing 10 with respect to the instrument panel 5 is determined.

As described above, the upper end fixing plates 31, the lower portionfixing plates 32, the lower end fixing plates 33 and the casing fixingplates 36 are fixed by the bolts to thereby function as fixing members.

It should be noted that bolts may be used only for fixing at least thecasing fixing plates 36 to the bracket 51 such that the casing fixingplates 36 can serve as fixing members, and the other fixing plates 31,32, 33 may be caused to function as engaging members by using pins.

To assemble the audio unit 40 with the unit casing 10, the audio unit 40is placed on the guides 35 and pressed in, whereby the audio unit 40 isguided to a normal fixed position (predetermined position).

Then, the bolts 42 are inserted through the respective through holes 41a, 41 b in the fixing plates 41 of the audio unit 40 and the respectivecorresponding through holes 34 a, 34 b in the intermediate fixing plates34 of the bracket portions 20 to fix the audio unit 40 to the bracketportions 20.

According to the present embodiment, since each of the intermediatefixing plates 34 for assembling the audio unit 40 with the unit casing10 is formed with the slots (through holes 34 a, 34 b), even if the unitcasing 10 has been assembled with the instrument panel in a misalignedor improperly-positioned manner, the position of the audio unit 40 withrespect to the instrument panel 5 can be corrected in the followingprocess of assembling the audio unit 40 with the unit casing 10. Morespecifically, it is possible to align the center of the switch panel ofthe audio unit 40 with the center of an opening 5A of the instrumentpanel 5 to thereby provide a uniform clearance between the audio unit 40and the opening 5A, which makes the air conditioning unit In theinstrument panel excellent in appearance.

Further, since the unit casing 10 is not configured to also serve as acasing for the audio unit 40, it is easier for the air conditioning unitof the present embodiment to accommodate a difference in size betweenaudio units 40 than the prior art disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open PatentPublication (Kokai) No. 10-6867, which enhances versatility of the airconditioning unit.

Moreover, it is possible to secure the unit casing 10 to the vehiclesimply by fixing the casing fixing plates 36 to the steering member 50by bolts and then engage the upper end fixing plates 31 and the lowerend fixing plates 33 with the instrument panel 5 and the floor panel 6,respectively, so that the operation for fixing the unit casing 10 can besimplified, and hence the assembly man-hours can be reduced.

In addition, since the bracket portions 20 have the guides 35 integrallyformed therewith, it is possible to easily mount even an audio unit 40whose size is increased for its multifunction capability.

FIG. 6(a) is a front view of an air conditioning unit for an automotivevehicle, according to a second embodiment of the invention, while FIG.6(b) is a side view of the same. Component parts and elements similar tothose of the first embodiment are designated by identical referencenumerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The present embodiment is distinguished from the first embodiment inthat an air conditioning amplifier (electrical equipment) 140 isintegrally pre-assembled with the vehicle air conditioning unit.

The air conditioning amplifier 140 is comprised of an air conditioningamplifier body 145 and a cable 146.

The air conditioning amplifier body 145 is guided to a normal fixedposition (predetermined position) along guides 35. The air conditioningamplifier body 145 has fixing plates 141 thereof fixed to intermediatefixing plates 34 of bracket portions 20 by bolts 42.

The cable 146 for air conditioning has one end thereof positioned on thecompartment side of the air conditioning amplifier 140 with respect toone of the fixing plates 141. The cable 146 extends from the airconditioning amplifier 140 to a unit casing 110 by passing outside thebracket 20.

The cable 146 has the other ends thereof fixedly connected to actuators161, 162 arranged on a side surface of the unit casing 110.

The actuator 161 has a door-driving lever 163 thereof connected to a camlever 165 via a rod 164. The cam lever 165 rotates about a shaft 165 ato drive a door, not shown, for opening and closing an air outlet portof the air conditioning amplifier 140. The actuator 161, the rod 164 andthe cam lever 165 form door-driving means.

On the other hand, the actuator 162 has an air-mixing door-driving lever166 thereof connected to one end of a door lever 168 via a rod.

The door lever 168 has the other end thereof fixedly connected to apivot 171 of an air-mixing door 170 in a manner rotatable in unison withthe air-mixing door 170.

Further, the air conditioning amplifier 140 is provided with buttons147. When the buttons 147 are operated, the actuators 161, 162 aredriven based on information stored in a controller, not shown,incorporated in the air conditioning amplifier 140.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle air conditioning unit is formedinto a module such that it incorporates the air conditioning amplifier140, so that it provides the following advantageous effects:

During assembly of the vehicle air conditioning unit with the vehicle,an operation for assembling the air conditioning amplifier 140 with theunit casing 110 can be dispensed with, which makes it possible to reducetime required for assembling the vehicle air conditioning unit with thevehicle, in comparison with the first embodiment.

Further, since it is not required to disassemble and reassemble the airconditioning amplifier body 145 separately, the quality of the productis improved.

FIG. 7(a) is a front view of an air conditioning unit for an automotivevehicle, according to a third embodiment of the invention, while FIG.7(b) is a side view of the same. Component parts and elements similar tothose of the first embodiment are designated by identical referencenumerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

The present embodiment is distinguished from the first embodiment inthat a cable assembly (electrical equipment) 240 for manual operation isintegrally pre-assembled with the vehicle air conditioning unit.

The cable assembly 240 is comprised of an assembly body 245 and cables246 a, 246 b.

The assembly body 245 is guided to a normal fixed position(predetermined position) along guides 35. The cable assembly 240 hasfixing plates 241 thereof fixed to bracket portions 20 by bolts 42.

The cables 246 a, 246 b for air conditioning each have one end thereofpositioned on the compartment side of the cable assembly 240 withrespect to one of the fixing plates 241. The cables 246 a, 246 b extendfrom the cable assembly 240 to a unit casing 210 by passing outside thebracket 20.

The cable 246 a has the other end thereof connected to a cam lever(door-driving means) 265 arranged on a side surface of the unit casing210. The cam lever 265 rotates about a shaft 265 a to drive a door, notshown, for opening and closing an air outlet port of the unit casing210.

The one end of the cable 246 b for air conditioning is positioned on thecompartment side of the cable assembly 240 with respect to the fixingplate 241. The cable 246 b extends from the cable assembly 240 to theunit casing 210 by passing outside the bracket 20.

The cable 246 b has the other end thereof fixedly connected to one endof a door lever 268 arranged on the side surface of the unit casing 210.The door lever 268 has the other end thereof fixedly connected to apivot 271 of an air-mixing door 270 in a manner rotatable in unison withthe air-mixing door 270.

The assembly body 245 is provided with levers 247 for operating thecables 246 a, 246 b to change the degrees of opening of the respectivedoor and air-mixing door 270.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to assemble thevehicle air conditioning unit with the vehicle in a shorter time than inthe first embodiment as well as to manufacture the vehicle airconditioning unit at lower costs than in the second embodiment.

Although in the above embodiments, the through holes 34 a, 34 b of theintermediate fixing plates 34 are each in the form of a slot, thethrough holes 41 a, 41 b of the fixing plates 41 may be formed to berespective slots. Further, the through holes 34 a, 34 b, 41 a, 41 b maybe formed to be respective slots such that the major axes of the throughholes 34 a, 34 b are crosswise to those of the through holes 41 a, 41 b.

Further, although in the second embodiment, the degree of opening of thedoor and that of the air-mixing door 170 are controlled by therespective actuators 161, 162, this Is not limitative, but the degree ofopening of at least one of an intake door, the door, and the air-mixingdoor may be controlled.

Moreover, although in the third embodiment, the degree of opening of thedoor and that of the air-mixing door 270 are manually controlled, thisis not limitative, but the degree of opening of at least one of anintake door, the door, and the air-mixing door may be controlled.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the vehicle air conditioning unit of the present invention,even if electrical equipment is assembled with an instrument panel in amisaligned or improperly-positioned manner, it is possible toaccommodate the misalignment or displacement by error-accommodatingmeans, so that the electrical equipment can be assembled with theinstrument panel with higher accuracy.

What is claimed is:
 1. An air conditioning unit for an automotivevehicle, which is housed in a space defined by a vehicle panelseparating an engine room and a vehicle compartment from each other, aninstrument panel arranged in said vehicle compartment, and a floor panelarranged on a floor of said vehicle compartment, the air conditioningunit comprising: a unit casing for being located in a central portion ina left-right direction of said vehicle; a bracket portion integrallyformed with a rear portion of said unit casing in a front-rear directionof said vehicle, for supporting electrical equipment; a fixing portionfor fixedly securing said unit casing to at least one of said instrumentpanel, a steering member, and said floor panel; and error-accommodatingmeans for accommodating an assembly error in assembling said electricalequipment and said instrument panel, wherein said fixing portioncomprises a fixing member for fixedly securing said unit casing to anyof said instrument panel, said steering member, and said floor panel,and an engaging member for engaging said unit casing with any of saidinstrument panel, said steering member, and said floor panel, andwherein said electrical equipment is integrally assembled with said unitcasing.
 2. An air conditioning unit for an automotive vehicle, accordingto claim 1, wherein said electrical equipment includes a cable for airconditioning, one end of said cable being positioned on a compartmentside of said electrical equipment with respect to a fixing plate of saidelectrical equipment, another end of said cable which extends from saidelectrical equipment to said unit casing by passing outside said bracketportion, being fixedly connected to door-driving means; for driving adoor arranged in said unit casing.